For Your Dining Pleasure
by Roadway
Summary: A little love story for Remy and a rough and tumble street rat. my first fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

For Your Dining Pleasure (a ratatouille fanfic)  
Ch.1

Remy walked down the wet street, in a hurry to get home and out of the cold air. Because of the weather not much people were out so Remy didn't have to be too careful about being out in the open. He scurried along the sidewalk hating the feeling of the cold rain against his paws. Remy's ears twitched at the sound of a car engine, he looked up to see a pair of bright head lights coming his way. In another instant Remy caught the sight of a rat wandering out into the street.  
"Watch out!" Remy called to the girl. He jumped into the road and tackled her down so that they were both pressed against the floor under the car that zoomed over head. After the car had passed, the girl pushed Remy off of her and stood up shaking the rain water from her rosy coat.

"Thanks, names Rena." She said nonchalantly.

"Oh, um, I'm Remy." He said taken aback at her lack of enthusiasm.

"That's nice." Rena said before walking away.

"Hey, wait, are you sure you're okay?" Remy asked with a sudden urge to follow Rena.

"I'm fine." Rena said.

"You should really be more careful."

"Yeah, I'll keep note of that." Rena said rolling her gray eyes.

"Okay," Remy said as he said caught up with Rena. He suddenly noticed something on her forehead, "what's this?" he asked reaching up to a scar on her forehead and wondering if it was from when he tackled her down.

Rena quickly slapped Remy's hand away, "it's nothing." She said covering it with her other hand.

"Did I do it?"

Rena rolled her eyes again, "if you had done it, it would've been a fresh cut. I've had this scar for a while…" she suddenly got a far away look in her eyes and she lowered her hand slightly.

"Rena?" Remy asked, "Are you okay?"

Rena shook her head banishing the oncoming memories from her mind; "I'm fine," Rena motioned her head towards the way they had come, "why don't you go home?"

Remy looked back, he hadn't realized that he had been walking all this time. None of the streets behind him looked familiar. "So, um, where's your pack?" Remy asked thinking that, maybe, just for tonight he could stay with them although he knew packs don't normally accept outsiders.

"Don't got one, I'm a loner." Rena answered looking at Remy sideways, what was he trying to do? A sudden smirk came over her face, "you're lost aren't you?"

"No!" Remy shot back, "I know these streets like the back of my hand, I am not lost!"

Rena just grinned at him.

He looked down, "yeah okay I'm lost."

"Here," Rena said turning around, "I'll show you the way back."

As they walked back Remy remembered what Rena had said, "You don't have a family?"

Rena flinched clenching her fist and swallowing hard, "no." she said. Remy was going to ask why but the tone in her voice made him drop the subject. After a few moments of silence, Rena added, "I choose to live this way." she didn't want Remy thinking of her as some pathetic lone street rat. Although… she thought, that's really what she was.

"You choose to live alone?"

"We're here." Rena said changing the subject. Remy looked around at all the familiar streets but he didn't leave, "isn't it lonely?" he asked.  
Rena flipped around on Remy, "Just go home." She said fiercely.

"Rena…" Remy started but Rena cut him off.

"My life is none of your business!" she yelled, "I brought you back here, my dept is repaid. Now go!"

Remy was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure,

"fine," he said turning to leave; he should be getting home anyway, he wasn't even sure why he cared anyway.

--

"Finally…" Rena breathed once she was alone again. But standing there on the wet sidewalk next to the empty road she couldn't help but feel more alone than she had ever been. She laughed dryly to herself thinking of what she had told Remy, that she chose this life. She hopped up onto one of the nearby roofs. She settled herself on the edge, looking across at the whole city. Thinking of all the people that were sitting in their nice warm homes with the people they love and all of the families of rats who were packed together tight to keep warm. She imagined Remy in his pack, talking about this strange girl he had met. She sighed, rubbing her paws together in an attempt to gain some warmth. Yeah, she thought sarcastically, _this was the life she had chosen._

--

this is a really old fanfic I wrote some time ago. Just felt like posting it here. Honestly, I don't remember a thing about it. It's probably crap.


	2. Chapter 2

For Your Dining Pleasure  
Ch.2

It was still cold out but not as cold as the rainy day before. As Rena weaved her way through the alleys she couldn't help but think about Remy. He had saved her life; did that mean that Rena owed him? Do you have to repay some one who saved your life even if you didn't want to be saved? She knew that she said her dept was repaid because she showed Remy the way back, but was that enough? Rena walked around lost in her own thoughts. When she finally came to she found that she was standing in front of a familiar shed. She circled the broken down shed slowly, thinking to herself. This place was so familiar… where had she seen it before? The rotten wood, the hole in the roof, the way the whole poorly built structure stood slightly askew, all of it was so familiar… Suddenly it hit her, this was her old home. Her breath caught in her throat, this was the old abandoned shack that her pack inhabited and claimed as their home. She felt tears well up in her eyes.

"No," she said to herself, "I won't cry." She clenched her fist as all the memories came flooding back to her. In a surge of energy Rena dashed away hoping that if she ran fast enough, she could leave the memories behind. In her mind, she heard the screams and squeals of her pack. She ran faster. She remembered the chaos and confusion. She ran even faster. Maybe if she ran fast enough the memories couldn't catch up to her. Her vision was blurred with tears and she couldn't see where she was going but she refused to stop. She had to escape her memories. She remembered Roland, her precious Roland. It was her fault he was gone. It was her fault. All of it was her fault. She closed her eyes tight but didn't stop running.

Eventually she started to slow her run down and in a matter of time, she had stopped completely but she couldn't stop crying. She leaned her back against a wall and sobbed into her paws. Why did she survive when no one else did?

"Rena?"

Rena jumped hearing her own name. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to see who was talking. "You again?" she said to Remy who was looking at her concerned.

"Were you just crying?" Remy asked worried.

"No. What do you care anyway?"

Why did he care? He thought to himself, he hardly even knew Rena. He shook his head, all he knew was that the thought of her sad made his heart hurt. "Why were you crying?"

"I just told you I wasn't crying!" she yelled. Why wouldn't he go away?

"It's okay," he said looking away, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"What's there to tell? I wasn't crying!" she snapped back.

Remy smiled a sad smile, "of course." He said.

"I wasn't!"

"Okay, I believe you." He said.

"I wasn't!" Rena yelled again still feeling the need to prove herself.

"I know." he said, then to change the subject, "you hungry?"

She was starving but she wouldn't say so. Remy took her silence as a confirmation. He unfolded the napkin package he was holding and handed Rena a piece of the French bread that was inside. Rena hesitantly reached out for it. She had never had fresh French bread before, she thought to herself as she took a bite. It was so soft and buttery. She glanced up at Remy who was smiling at her. Why was he being so nice? Rena suddenly blushed, "Look, I should get going okay?"

Remy nodded a little disappointed, "yeah, okay." He said. She nodded then took off in the opposite direction, she didn't know where she was going but she knew she wanted to get away. The cold air ruffled her fur as she ran but still her face felt hot.


	3. Chapter 3

For Your Dining Pleasure  
Ch.3

Rena opened her eyes as the sun peeked through the bars that separated her from the world outside. She stood up and stretched herself out. She moaned tiredly, closed her eyes and leaned her head back to take in the warmth of the sun. The days were getting warmer now. She climbed her way out of the sewer and onto the streets. As she walked across the road she noticed her stomach growl. She put her paws on her stomach, when was the last time she had eaten? She scurried across the sidewalk glancing up at the shops she passed. Suddenly she noticed a sign with a rat on it. Ratatouille it was called. She shrugged as she made her way to the back of the restaurant, searching intently for a place to sneak in. On the side wall she noticed a hole that she could squeeze through. She eased herself in the hole and peeked into the restaurant. Jackpot, she thought to herself, she was in the kitchen. Chances were, they kept all their food locked up in a freezer so, Rena reasoned, she'd have to steal food right from the chefs. She picked a spot that seemed to be the easiest to steal from. She noticed a red headed chef not far from her that seemed more interested in the female chef next to him than what he was cooking. She ran from the crevice in the wall and took position in the shadows on the end of the counter. She stared intently at the arrangement of carrots the chef was chopping. She synchronized her breathing with the pattern of his chopping. At the second the man looked away she launched herself across the counter and stole a carrot right from under his hand but her timing was a bit off. The man jumped back from surprise, Rena took this opportunity to try and escape but she slipped on a puddle of spilt soup. She skidded into the tiled wall behind her but she was quick to rebound. She jumped to the floor and rushed to the hole she had entered through. She was almost there when a gray rat burst out in front of her and blocked her path. She stumbled back a few steps and dropped her carrot. The red headed chef took this opportunity to capture her under a pot.

"Rena?" Remy gasped recognizing the girl just before the pot covered her up.

--

Next thing Rena knew, she was in a cage. The red-headed man leaned over so he was eye level with her. His name tag said Linguini, Rena noticed. Rena glanced around her surroundings. She was no longer in the restaurant. She was in a place that looked to be a human home. She looked back at Linguini who was sighing.

"Alright," he said, "you can't go around stealing food like that." he told her. She rolled her eyes, of course a human wouldn't understand. "Hey, don't give me attitude." He said to her. Rena looked at him wide-eyed, what did he just say? Since when did humans notice a rat's emotions? She heard the sound of small paws pitter-pattering against the wooden counter she was on. She glanced sideways to see Remy.

"Well, she won't listen to me but maybe you can talk to her, little chef." Linguini said before walking off.

"So, Remy, hanging around the humans?"

"What do you care? I can't believe you were stealing food."

Rena rolled her eyes, "what do you care? Not all of us have human friends to get food for us. This is how I live."

Remy shrugged, "I just… thought you were better than that."

Rena growled, "Since when did you know anything about me?"

Remy glanced at her shocked and offended that she would say something like that but then he realized something, he didn't know her that well; she was just some street rat that he ran into a few times. "You're right." Remy murmured sadly before walking away.

Rena suddenly felt ashamed of herself as she watched Remy walk away. Disheartened,

Remy trailed across the floor. When had he become so attached to this girl he hardly knew?

"Hey, you alright little chef?" Linguini asked bending over so he was on eye level with the depressed little rodent. Remy looked up at Linguini with sad eyes. "Do you know her?" Linguini asked motioning his head towards Rena's cage. Remy started to nod but then, remembering what Rena had said, he shook his head. He felt as if his heart was in his throat and if he didn't get away soon, he'd cry.


	4. Chapter 4

For Your Dining Pleasure  
Ch.4

Linguini decided to just let Rena go, "but if I catch you stealing again," he had warned, "I won't go so easy on ya." Rena didn't care she just wanted to get away. She couldn't stand to be in that house any longer. She had spent the last few hours watching Remy sulk and she couldn't take it more. As soon as Linguini opened the cage door, Rena took off into the cool night air. She ran back to her usual spot, the sewer, but she couldn't get Remy's face out of her mind. She shook her head; she didn't want to think about Remy. She closed her eyes and thought about something else. She thought about Roland. She remembered the warmth of his thick black coat, the feeling of his arms around her. The thought made her sick. She would never be held in his arms again. She crossed her arms and shuddered, she would never be held in anyone's arms again.

--

Early morning, the next week, just as the sun was coming up, Lynelle smiled to herself, her fur shining a sandy blondish color as she looked up at the large Ratatouille sign. She had finally made it, she thought to herself. With her head held up high she pushed through the large front doors and entered the restaurant. Because it was so early the only people there were the employees. Linguini was hard at work setting all the tables. Lynelle watched as the man skated back and forth, to and fro, straightening table clothes and placing fresh flowers in the center of the tables. He suddenly stopped as he noticed the small Lynelle standing in the middle of the floor, watching him.

"Hey, there, little guy." He said skating over to her. He leaned over and offered his hand so she could climb onto it, "you here for little chef?" Lynelle nodded hoping he was talking about Remy.

Linguini brought Lynelle into the kitchen, "hey, little chef, someone's here to see you." He called. Remy walked out onto the counter and Linguini placed Lynelle in front of him and left to finish setting up the dining room.

"Remy!" Lynelle gasped squeezing Remy tight.

"Um," Remy said struggling to get out of her embrace, "do I know you?"

"Oh, where are my manners!" Lynelle said letting go of Remy and shaking his hand instead, "My name is Lynelle, and I've heard so much about you! How you cook and everything and I just had to come to see for myself! It's such an honor to meet you in person!" she spoke with a slight French accent.

"Oh! Well thanks, I guess."

"Please, monsieur, do me the honor of cooking for me, would you?" she asked clasping her paws together.

"Oh, yeah, sure, of course I'll cook for you."

"Ah! Merci!" Lynelle said excitedly.


	5. Chapter 5

For Your Dining Pleasure  
Ch.5

Rena wandered over to Ratatouille, she didn't know what she was going to say but she wanted to talk to Remy. She wanted so much just to see Remy again. She squeezed in through the hole in the wall. As she made it inside she glanced around to see if she could find Remy. In a back corner she spotted him, flipping an omelet. She made her way across the counters but as she got closer to Remy, she noticed someone else was there with him too. She was a light sandy color and she had a lavender flower behind her ear. Her green eyes sparkled as she watched Remy toss ingredients together. Rena clenched her fist and glared at the girl. Remy suddenly sensed that he was being watched and glanced over his shoulder.

"Rena?" he said his heart pounding, as he recognized the rat sitting a few counters behind his. He didn't think he'd ever see her again. At this time, the restaurant was open so chefs were bustling around the kitchen.

Rena turned her attention to Remy, "yeah." She said.

Remy was so happy to see her but then he remembered what she had done, "Back to steal more food?" Remy snarled.

"Um," Rena said looking down at her feet, "about that…" she murmured.

"Huh? Rena I can't hear you you're too far away."

"I just um…" Rena said still looking down at her feet.

"Talk louder!" Remy shouted to her over the sound of clashing dishes.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled.

Remy looked at her shocked, she didn't seem like the type to apologize, he scurried over the counters and made his way over to her, "you mean it?" he asked once he was hearing distance.

"I guess." She said.

That was good enough for Remy, "well, if you're hungry, then I'll cook you something, since you're not stealing anymore… right?"

"I guess." Rena said again still not looking Remy in the face.

Remy lifted her chin so her eyes met his, "you sure?"

Rena stared into Remy's brown eyes, glowing gold in the light of the kitchen. She blushed suddenly. She pulled back from him and punched playfully him in the arm, "yes I'm sure now go make me something to eat before I die over here!" she yelled.

Remy laughed, "You're crazy." He said grabbing Rena's paw and leading her over to where he was cooking. "Oh!" he said as he made it over there, "Rena this is Lynelle," he said gesturing to the sandy colored girl, "and Lynelle this is Rena, my uh…" he regretted saying those words immediately now he felt like he had to give Rena a title. He wondered if he could call her a friend considering how little he knew about her. Then he suddenly realized that he was still holding her paw. He quickly withdrew his paw blushing.

"Your… what?" Lynelle asked.

"His friend." Rena said. Remy looked over at Rena smiling, Rena rolled her eyes at him but she was smiling too.


	6. Chapter 6

For Your Dining Pleasure  
Ch.6

"Oh, my, this is delicious!" Lynelle appraised, savoring every bite of the omelet, "the fluffiness of the eggs, mmmm... and this cheese, its sharp and, oh, is that a hint of nuttiness?"

"Right? Can't you just taste all the flavors coming together?" Remy watched Lynelle in admiration; he didn't know there were any other rats with his same tastes as him. She also had the same sense of smell, he remembered, when he was cooking she would close her eyes and sniff the air and recall the exact ingredients that he was using.  
Rena ripped a mushroom apart with her teeth as she watched Lynelle suck up to Remy.

"Hey you know you guys should come to my home sometime! I could give a tour!"

"Your home? What are you, some kind of domesticated rat?" Rena taunted but Lynelle ignored her.

"Where do you live?" Remy asked.

"The Recaniter Vineyards."

The name meant nothing to Rena but Remy gasped, "You live at one of the most famous wine distributors in France! I'd love to see it sometime!"

"You're welcome to come along when I go home, there's still some sight seeing I want to do here in Paris first though."

"What do ya think Rena?" Remy asked.

Rena thought that this was a load of crap and she could really care less about 'the most famous wine distributors in France' but she didn't want to be sitting around Paris thinking about Remy and Lynelle alone together at the vineyards so she told Remy that it sounded great and she'd love to come along. As she said the words she noticed Lynelle snarl at her. Rena just smiled; she'd make sure that Lynelle wouldn't be alone with Remy, even for a second. She took another bite of her omelet and stared at Lynelle triumphantly.

--

"Well, good bye my dears." Lynelle said to Remy and Rena. She had spent the morning at the restaurant and the evening was coming upon them, "I should be off; there are a few other places I'd like to visit. I'll come back here in a few days to get you guys when I'm ready to leave, alright?"

"Bye." Rena said eager to get rid of Lynelle.

"Sounds good, Lynelle, I can't wait." Remy said grinning.

"Well, I best be off, then." She said. She held Remy's chin and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, "to remember me by." She said. Remy blushed.

" _Good bye. _" Rena growled again through clenched teeth.  
Lynelle waved before walking away.


	7. Chapter 7

For Your Dining Pleasure  
Ch.7

"She's great isn't she?" Remy said once Lynelle was gone.

"Yeah, um, she sure is…" Rena forced the words to come from her mouth. She suddenly turned to Remy, "hey," she said cheerily, "think you can take off the rest of the afternoon?"

"Yeah, sure why?" Remy asked suspicious of her unusual cheeriness.

Rena grabbed his paw and pulled him towards the back door, "I wanna show you something." She told him realizing that she'd have to act fast if she wanted to win against Lynelle.

Rena led Remy out to the roofs that she always walked around on, "this is where I normally spend my time." She told him, "I like to get high above the crowds of people; everything is so different at this level it's like entering a totally different world." She climbed up onto a tree branch, "it's nice isn't it?" she asked settling herself on the tree and looking across at the evening haze that settled on the town as a soft breeze blew gently over her fur.

"Um, Rena…" Remy said as he made his way next to her, "are you okay?"

Rena glanced at him, "yeah, I'm fine, why?"

"It's just uh… look, I know I don't know you all that well and all that but I know you well enough to know that this," he said gesturing towards her, "isn't you."

"What are you talking about? I'm-"

"Rena." Remy said interrupting her.

Rena gave up, "fine," she said, "but I was just trying to be nice." She stood up, "what's your problem anyway?"

"My problem? Since when did I have a problem? You're the one that's going all crazy on me!"

"I was just being nice!"

"No you were being all girly and cheery, it was creepy."

"But it's not creepy when _she _does it?" Rena murmured.

"Who? Lynelle?"

Rena nodded slowly.

"You don't like her do you?" Remy asked.

Rena didn't answer, she just glared at Remy.

"Why not?" Remy asked.

"I… um…" she didn't know what to say. Why didn't she like Lynelle? She seemed like a nice person. But then why did the thought of her make Rena sick? "…I don't know…" she finished.

Rena closed her eyes and tried to picture Lynelle. She thought of the way Remy looked at

Lynelle when she praised his cooking and the way Remy blushed when she kissed him. She felt anger well up in her throat. Was she jealous? She snapped her eyes open and looked at Remy, was she afraid that he liked Lynelle more than her? "I've…" Rena said nervously, "got to go." She jumped from the tree down to the ground and took off into the oncoming darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

For Your Dining Pleasure  
Ch.8

Rena leaned back on the side of a building looking up at the starry sky. She breathed slowly still trying to calm herself down but her fluttering heart wouldn't settle. She was so mean to Remy all the time, she thought, why was he always so nice to her? She sighed as her dusty grey eyes scanned the patterns of stars across the black back drop of the night sky. The night air was calming, so in a matter of minutes she had relaxed. It was weird really, Remy was just this random guy that she happened to run into a few times but she felt like she'd known him all her life.

"Rena?" Rena looked up, it was Remy again, "There you are. I was worried about the way you just took off like that."

"Oh, right, sorry." She said.

"Is everything okay?"

"It's fine." Rena said looking back up at the sky. Remy nodded then leaned against the wall next to her and looked up towards the sky. They stood there in silence for awhile.

"Why do you always say that?" Remy asked out of the silence.

"Hm?"

"You're 'fine'" he said, "why always fine?"

Rena shrugged, "what else should I say?"

"Well, you could say you're 'good' or 'great,' but you're always just 'fine.'"

"Well, maybe I'm not good or great. Maybe I'm just fine all the time and that's all there is to it."

"Oh." Remy said leading them into another long moment of silence. Remy glanced over at Rena who was gazing at the moon. He felt sadness come over him when he thought about how little he knew about her. It seemed like she never wanted to talk to him. He sighed wondering if he would ever figure her out.

Rena yawned as she stretched her arms above her head, "it's getting late," she said, "I'm gonna call it a night."

--

"Rena!" Rena turned to see who was calling her.

"Roland!" she cheered as the rat ran to her.

"How ya doing girl?" he asked.

Rena laughed, "I'm fine, but where have you been?" Rena asked patting him on the back of his normally black coat that had been grayed by layers of dust. As she patted him clouds of dust appeared in the air.

Roland grinned, "Just diggin' around." He said his blue eyes sparkling "wanna go to the water hole with me?" knowing her answer would be yes he took off in the direction of the small, shallow lake.

"Sure!" Rena said chasing him. "Wait up!" she yelled trying to catch up. In a quick burst of energy she pounced onto Roland and they both tumbled into the water together. Rena flipped her head above the surface of the water.

"Gotcha!" she called to Roland who came up not far from her. Roland laughed, diving under the water. Rena closed her eyes and listened closely to see if she could pick out where Roland was since she wasn't a good underwater swimmer. Rena caught the sound of some splashing.

She grinned and swam over towards the reeds, "oh, Roland, come out, come out where ever you are!" she yelled playfully. "Gotcha!" she said as she parted the reeds. But only a frog was on the other side, who, startled, hopped back into the water.

Rena leaned back disappointed, just then Roland popped out of the water and grabbed her from behind, "Gotcha!" he called.

"Roland, you jerk! You cheated!" Rena laughed as she struggled to break free of Roland's grasp. Suddenly her nose bumped his and she found herself face to face with Roland who was gazing into her eyes. Rena abruptly stopped laughing as she looked into Roland's eyes. Roland loosened his grip on her so she could turn to face him completely. Roland leaned in closer to her until their lips were only an inch apart. Just as Rena was about to kiss him they were interrupted by a scream. They jumped apart.

"It's coming from the shack!" Roland called, "come on!" he jumped out of the water and ran, dripping wet, back to the shed with Rena following behind. As they got closer the screams got louder. Rena was so confused, what was going on? They both ran into the shack and as their eyes adjusted to the light they could make out a human figure… he was holding something. Rena squinted at it, still unable to understand what was going on. What was that he was swinging around? A… shovel…? Suddenly she understood but she had no time to react, Roland grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her out of the shed,

"get away from here!" he called after her. The man was there to harm her family. She didn't know what else to do so she ran.

Rena awoke from her dream panting. Her fur was damp from sweat. She shook her head wiping the memories from her mind. That was years ago, she thought wondering what could have triggered the dream. She tried to regain her breath. She was the only one left from her pack, the only one because Roland had saved her. She thought about Roland, she had never gotten to kiss him she thought with regret, she never even told him how she felt.

"Rena!" Rena heard her name being called by someone above the surface. She climbed out of the sewer. "Rena!" she heard again.

"What is it Remy?" Rena asked rubbing her eyes.  
Remy turned, "oh, Rena there you are! Lynelle's here." he said.


	9. Chapter 9

For Your Dining Pleasure  
Ch.9

"Y'know you don't have to come if you don't want to." Remy told Rena.

"Yeah, I know," Rena snapped back at Remy as they made their way to the restaurant. Lynelle was waiting for them there.

"There you guys are!" she said as they walked into the kitchen. She always looked at Remy when she talked, Rena noticed. "Come on, let's get going!" she said hooking her arm with Remy's. She grinned at Rena as she did so, taunting her. Rena didn't care, she felt far away and detached from them both, her mind was still at her childhood home.

--

"Here it is!" Lynelle said as she walked through the large opened door. Remy looked around in awe as Lynelle rambled off little random facts about wine and Rena trailed behind, not paying attention to either of them.

After giving the grand tour Lynelle left Rena and Remy alone sitting on a pile of burlap sacs while she went to go get wine for them to sample.

"Hey Rena?" Remy said.

"Hmm?" Rena replied not looking at Remy.

"Are you okay?"

Rena felt a pang in her heart. He really cared; she thought to herself smiling for the first time that day, "Yeah, I've just been… thinking a lot."

"About what?"

"Home." she said getting a far away look in her eyes.

"Home?" Remy asked.

Before Rena got the chance to answer him Lynelle came back with various kinds of wine held in small bottles. "Here," she said handing some over to Remy, "this is one of my favorites." Remy took the wine and took a small sip. He commented on its delightful tartness and smooth feel as he handed the rest over to Rena. Rena held the bottle with both hands as she looked down into it. she watched her reflection in the dark purplish liquid. Looking at herself she realized how much prettier Lynelle was than her. She glanced up at Lynelle with her nicely groomed fine fur and sparkling eyes not like Rena's unruly mess of fur and dull gray eyes. She put her lips to the bottle and chugged down the rest of the remaining wine.

"Rena! You're not supposed to chug it!" Remy gasped, appalled.

Rena didn't care. She liked the way the wine warmed her, "keep 'em coming." She said to Lynelle who happily obliged realizing that Rena was making a fool of herself. Remy was doing all he could to stop Rena but it was hopeless and in a matter of time, Rena was drunk.

"I can't believe both of you live with humans!" Rena's words were slurred and hard to understand.

"What's so wrong with humans?" Remy asked.

"Are you kidding me? Rat's and humans just shouldn't go together, it's not natural… it's like… unnatural."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've spent my whole life running from humans, they can't be trusted. But then, I guess… you guys have never lived as street rats so you don't know what it's like… I take it both of you also are part of a pack?"

"But Rena-"

"I'm not!" Lynelle said interrupting Remy, "I don't have a pack."

Remy looked at Lynelle, "really? You too? Why not?"

Lynelle shrugged, "I've never had a pack, I grew up in a pet store." She turned her attention to Rena, "so stop thinking you're so special, you're not the only one who grew up alone."

Rena laughed, "A PET STORE!! Are you serious?! You think you can relate to a street rat because you grew up in a _Pet Store?! _"

"I was just saying that I never had a pack either." Lynelle snapped back.  
Rena rolled her eyes, "like you could possibly understand me just because you grew up without a pack. I had a pack growing up." Rena said taking another swig of wine.

"What happened?" Remy asked hoping that she'd talk to him now that she was drunk.

"What happened? I'll tell you what happ-" Rena suddenly swooned and passed out.


	10. Chapter 10

For Your Dining Pleasure  
Ch.10

As Rena slowly came back to consciousness she felt that she was on something soft. A… bed? When had she ever slept on a bed before? Slowly she opened her eyes. At first all she could see was a haze of colors but soon enough the colors formed into shapes. She watched a gray splotch of color take the shape of Remy.

"Remy?" she asked her mouth barely forming the word.

Remy turned to Rena, "oh! Rena you're awake!"

Rena slowly sat herself up in the bed, she was sore and her head was pounding, "what happened?"

"You got really drunk at Lynelle's vineyard and passed out."

"Oh." Rena said the memory slowly coming back to her, "where's Lynelle?"

"Back at her home, she didn't come back to Paris with us."

"Where am I?"

"My place."

"You… carried me all the way here?" Rena asked

Remy smiled, "what're friends for?" he said placing a cold wet rag on her forehead, the coolness felt good on her aching head.

"You're a really… good friend aren't you?" Rena said feeling hazy.

Remy shrugged, "yeah, well, I try." After a moment of silence Rena added, "They were taken away from me by humans."

"What?" Remy asked confused.

"My pack. We used to live in an old tool shed that was barely used but one day the man who owned the shed…" the memories were playing though her head like an old movie,

"he found us and he… killed everyone."

"But… you survived?" Remy asked softly trying not to upset Rena.

"Yeah, Roland saved me."

"Roland?"

"A… very close friend of mine, he died with the rest of them."

"Oh."

"Ever since then, I've been all alone." Rena continued.

"I'm sorry." Remy said looking away.

Rena shook her head, "that was a long time ago, it doesn't bother me anymore," she lied.

"Really?" Remy asked.

"Well, it won't. I'll move on." Rena answered.

Remy nodded, "I have to get going to the restaurant. Are you gonna be okay here by yourself?"

"I'll be fine, go." Rena said.

"If you're sure." Remy said hesitantly turning to walk away.

Rena watched Remy's back as he walked away, "hey, Remy."

Remy turned around, "yeah?"

"Thanks." She said.

"For what?" Remy asked.

Rena shook her head, "never mind, just go."

Remy looked at Rena unsure but he turned and left anyway. Rena smiled to herself, maybe she wasn't alone anymore.


	11. Chapter 11

For Your Dining Pleasure  
Ch. 11

Rena ran up to the side of the house and hopped up onto the window sill like she had done so many times before. She squeezed though the small opening in the window and pulled herself into the house. As she made it inside she glanced at the small bed beside her. She remembered the day, a few months ago when she woke up in that bed with a hangover after Remy had carried her home from Lynelle's vineyards. She smiled to herself noticing that now she called this place home. Remy had offered for her to stay with him. She wasn't sure about it at first since it was a human's house but she had accepted and she had actually come to like Linguini. He was an idiot but he made Rena laugh and he was nice. She liked Colette too, who occasionally came over to visit.

"Rena!" Remy called snapping Rena out of her thoughts.

"Hey, Remy!" she said as she jumped down to the floor.

"I was going to go to The Roofs, you wanna come?" Remy asked.

"I'll race ya!" Rena said immediately taking off running. The Roofs were a collection of stores with roofs close enough to jump to. It was the same place that Rena had shown him the day of Lynelle's first visit. As Rena ran down the familiar path, she realized that she hadn't seen Lynelle since that day they visited her home, which, as far as Rena was concerned, was fine by her. Rena stopped as she reached the top of the first roof. She stepped to the edge and looked over the city as the wind blew against her face. Soon enough Remy came up behind her panting.

"Beat ya." Rena said winking at Remy over her shoulder.

Remy smiled, "what else is new?" he walked up and sat down next to her. It was a nice day. The wind was warm and the sky was blue. Rena leaned back looking up at the sky. Such a beautiful blue, she thought to herself, the cloudless sky reminding her of Roland's eyes. She thought of Roland differently now it seemed. Before, when she thought of Roland, her heart would pound and she'd feel sick to her stomach but now Roland was more like a pleasant memory that came to her mind from time to time. Before, when she thought about him, she was pained with a longing that she knew could never be satisfied. But she no longer felt that way about him.

Rena was warm and comfortable on the roof and soon enough her thoughts gave way to sleep.

--

Rena felt the warm sun on her face as she slowly opened her eyes. She turned on her side and suddenly noticed that she was face to face with Remy. Remy was asleep right next to her with his arm around her. She stood up quickly and pulled away from him, her face bright red. Just then Remy woke up.

"Hey, there sleepy head," Rena said trying to hide her embarrassment.

Remy sat up, "oh, Rena, sorry, I must've fallen asleep."

Rena let out a sigh of relief; he didn't know that she had just been asleep next to him,

"Hey, what time is it? We should probably be getting back home." Rena said trying to calm her pounding heart.

"You Okay?" Remy asked the flustered Rena.

"Yeah…" Rena said, "I'm fin-" she stopped herself, "I'm great." She said smiling.


	12. Chapter 12

For Your Dining Pleasure  
Ch. 12

Rena glanced at the clock as she climbed out of bed, it was nearly noon. She rubbed her forehead, why had she slept in so late?

"Remy!" she called into the house, but it seemed that nobody was home. Remy and Linguini were probably at work.

Rena wandered into Ratatouille glancing around for Remy. Linguini spotted her as she came in, "Little chef's friend." He addressed her, "Have you seen little chef anywhere?"

Rena shook her head, she thought he was here. Rena left the restaurant and ran to The Roofs, if he wasn't at work, he was probably there. She jumped from roof to roof calling his name but he didn't seem to be there either. Worried, Rena took off back to the house to check again if Remy was there. She slipped into the house like she always did but Remy wasn't there either.

"Remy." She called into the empty house anyway. Where was he? Just then she noticed a small bright yellow envelope sitting on the edge of a small table. She grabbed the open envelope and took the letter out.

_Dear Remy,  
Bonjour, my dear. I had to write because you haven't been visiting as often as usual and I miss you frightfully much. Look, there's something I've wanted to tell you for awhile but it seems every time you come over, I just can't bring myself to say it. I was planning on telling you in this letter but it seems that yet again I'm too shy. Please come over and I'll tell you in person, it's the way it should be done anyway. And this time, I promise I'll do it.  
Sincerely,  
Lynelle _

Rena crumpled the letter in her fist. _He had been seeing her all this time?_ She was furious! As soon as Remy got there Lynelle would confess her love and then Rena wouldn't even have a chance. No, she thought, I won't let her win. She took off out the window and to the train station. She had to get to Remy before he got to Lynelle. She remembered Roland and how she never got to tell him how she felt; she wasn't going to let something like that happen again.

As the train stopped she burst out of door, running as fast as she could towards Lynelle's farm.

"Remy!" she yelled spotting him in the distance though the opened farm doors.

"Rena!" Remy gasped looking over his shoulder, "What're you doing here?" Lynelle was with him, she noticed hoping she wasn't too late.

"Remy, wait, I need to talk to you!"

"Why?"

"Just, please, let me talk to you first!" she yelled running closer.

"Rena, why? Can it wait? I'm kinda in the middle of something." Remy yelled to her.

"I know, but you can't, not yet!" She yelled trying to get closer to Remy before she blurted out what she wanted to say.

"Why?"

"Because Remy," she yelled to him knowing she couldn't wait any longer if she wanted to beat Lynelle, "You idiot, I love you Dammit!" Rena had to stop running. Her heart was pounding fast and she could catch her breath.

Remy suddenly turned on his heel, "You…" Remy couldn't get his words out, "I…I…" he tried again still unable to get out what he wanted to say. What did he want to say? He looked at Rena standing there still so far away, panting for breath, her face was bright red. She was so cute, he thought, his heart pounding. He walked over to her.

"Remy!" Lynelle gasped, stopping Remy in his tracks, "What do you think you're doing?" Remy was now standing halfway in between both of the girls, "_I_ Love you!!!"

"Lynelle?!" Remy gasped.

Rena's heart was pounding so hard she felt as if it was going to pop out of her chest as she watched Remy looking at Lynelle. He's going to pick her, she thought, _he'll choose Lynelle over me!_

"Lyn… sorry, Lynelle." Remy said quickly running over to Rena. He grabbed Rena by the shoulders and kissed her smack on the lips. Rena was taken aback for a moment but soon enough she threw her arms around him and kissed him back. This time, she'd have no regrets, she thought to herself.

"Hey," Remy said as they broke away from their kiss, "how about we go home?"

"Good idea." Rena said walking back towards the train station but she noticed that Remy hesitated for a moment and glanced back at the farm. Remy sighed and Rena instantly felt bad. Remy had been seeing Lynelle all this time for a reason. She was his friend. They had a lot in common and Rena just took all that away. Rena bolted from Remy's side and ran to Lynelle's farm.

"Rena!" Remy called after her but she ignored him. As she made it to Lynelle, in one quick burst she threw her arms around her, squeezing her in a tight hug.

"What? What are you doing?" Lynelle asked struggling to get away. Rena held on to her longer until she stopped struggling. Then she loosened her grip so she look Lynelle in the face, "it was fun, fighting with you and all, no hard feelings?" she asked.

Lynelle pushed Rena away, "What is wrong with you?" but she couldn't help a smile from showing through, "yeah," she said quietly so Remy wouldn't hear, "no hard feelings."

Just then Remy caught up with them, "I guess we should go then." Rena said.

"Don't be a stranger, Kay?" Lynelle said. Rena nodded and walked past Lynelle to Remy. "Oh, and by the way, Rena, this isn't over." She said winking over her shoulder as she walked away.

"Far from it." Rena said leaving the farm.

"What just happened?" Remy asked following Rena out of Lynelle's farm.

"I guess… me and Lynelle aren't so different after all…" Rena said.

"Umm, are you okay?" Remy asked confused.

Rena looked over to Remy smiling, "I'm great!" she said then she took off in the direction of the train station, "hey," she called to Remy, "I'll race ya!"

~The end~

--

yep, it is just a crappy as I remember but be nice. It was my first fanfic after all.


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